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BORO clocked up their first away win under Aitor Karanka with a battling 2-0 victory at hostile Millwall.

After a low-quality and mistaken strewn first half played in atrocious condition Boro showed a few flashed of quality in the second period as Emanuel Ledesma cut inside to crack in a sizzling early opener then slotted a lovely bal lfor Albert Adomah to seal it late on.

It was only Boro's second away win of the season – and the other came just down the road at Charlton.

Boro made five changes with Jozsef Varga coming in at right-back for injured Rhys Williams and Ben Gibson in for Jonathan Woodgate at the back; Richard Smallwood in for Grant Leadbitter who was ill in midfield; and up front Marvin Emnes and Curtis Main started in place of Lukas Jutkiewicz and Jacob Butterfield.

Boro made the first tentative probe in the third minute as George Friend and Mustapha Carayol combined neatly down the left to cross in towards Curtis Main breaking into the box but the ball hit a defender on the back and bounced down six yards out but was hacked clear before the striker could react.

Then followed a scrappy spell of head tennis in midfield before Boro twice tried quick balls over the top but both times Main had gone too early and was flagged offside.

A heavy downpour in the capital had left the pitch soggy and there were a string of early slips and mistakes as both sides struggled to establish a rhythm.

Boro started to find their feet with some crisp passing and pushed deep into the Millwall half. They almost broke through on 11 minutes as Smallwood barged his way through two challenges to get into the box onto a bouncing ball but it wouldn't fall for him then when Emnes latched onto it his first touch was poor and it ran out for a goal-kick.

And they almost broke through again on 15 minutes as Carayol tricked in from the left then squared into the box but keeper Forde was quickly off his line to beat Emnes by a fraction in a sprint for the ball.

Millwall, pegged back, were resorting to the occasional long ball and keeper Shay Given had to be quickly out of his box to hoof clear on 18 minutes then soon after dashed out to jump and head clear of onrushing striker Morison.

With the swirling wind and rain making conditions difficult Boro were trying hard to keep the ball on the ground and pick their way forward.

On the half-hour Ayala chopped down Trotter as he burst towards the box and collected a yellow card.

And a minute later Boro were forced to make a change, Emanuel Ledesma coming on for injured Carayol.

Boro almost carved out a chance on 33 minutes as Ledesma slotted a ball into Emnes just outside the box on the left and he turned well then chipped inside towards the run of Smallwood but defender Dunne cut it out.

Millwall broke out on 38 minutes after a Ledesma corner swirled wildly then was collected by former Boro man Scott McDonald who sent Trotter tearing down the right but his cross in towards Morison was easily cut out by Varga.

Boro then almost cut into the Millwall box as Emnes, Main and Smallwood exchanged crisp short passes and got the benefit of a deflection but when the final ball arrived at the feet of the Dutch striker eight yards out a defender stretched to poke it away before he could shoot.

Millwall had the first shot of the game on 41 minutes when defender Dunne trundled forward to join the attack and when Woolford rolled inside for him he leathered a low 25 yard effort that forced a routine save from Given.

Millwall won their first corner on 43 minutes as Morison closed down Friend near the flag and when the half-cleared kick came back in Gibson cleared the second.

Then Gibson was in action at the other end, putting a diving header just wide from the third of a series of Boro corners.

HALF-TIME: MILLWALL 0 BORO 0

Boro had to survive some heavy early pressure after the break as they scrambled away a string of Millwall corners.

And from one they broke away to score the opener with a sizzling strike that cut through the mediocrity on 49 minutes

As the ball was cleared from the box it was swept perceptively behind the right-back and down the flank for EMANUEL LEDESMA to tear forward, cut inside then unleash a cracking 25 yard drive into the far top corner.

The Boro man then lifted his shirt above his head before holding aloft a Stuart Parnaby 21 shirt thrown to him from the dug-out to mark the memory of the defender's unborn baby daughter who died last week, a month before she was due. He was booked for his actions.

Millwall's McDonald - being booed by Boro fans - was booked for dissent after he was fouled by Whitehead.

Boro then enjoyed a good spell of pressure and Millwall were forced into some frantic defending but they broke out on the hour to threaten as Morison stormed forward but Gibson had tracked him all the way and put in a timely tackle as he reached the edge of the box.

On 62 minutes Millwall put on former Hartlepool striker Easter in place of disappointing McDonald.

On 66 minutes Given had to come sliding out to gather at the feet of Morison as the striker chased after a long ball with Ayala in hot pursuit.

Millwall almost clawed levelled on 70 minutes as Whitehead lost the ball in the middle and it was was pushed down the left for Malone to chip into the middle for Morison to power a diving header goalwards but Given dived to claw it away then it was hook away by Adomah before Easter could arrive.

Straight down the other end Boro should have sealed victory a minute later as Emnes wriggled forward then pushed the ball out to the right for Ledesma to cut into the box then square for Smallwood in space near the penalty spot but with time and space he fired over.

On 72 minutes Millwall put on Keogh for Abdou and two minutes later Boro put on Butterfield for Emnes.

Boro almost squeezed a second on 78 minutes as Ledesma swung a corner to the near post where defender Trotter got a touch and his header drifted a fraction outside the back stick.

Millwall almost grabbed a leveller as a quick ball to the edge of the box sparked a tussle between Boro man Gibson and home striker Morison and when the ball rolled loose Trotter thumped it a whisker above the bar from 20 yards.

Boro went close on 82 minutes as Butterfield sent Adomah to the edge of the box where he tricked past his marker then drilled a low shot to the near post but keeper Forde collected casually.

On 83 minutes Lukas Jutkiewicz replaced Main.

Boro were forced into some spirited if scrappy defending in a tense closing spell as the home side piled forward.

But they broke out to seal it at the death as Ledesma slipped a neat ball into the feet of ALBERT ADOMAH at the edge of the box and he skipped around the advancing keeper and slotted into an unguarded net.